Goldman Sachs: State of The Markets

A top Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategist has provided the firm’s hedge-fund clients with a particularly gloomy economic outlook and suggestions for how these traders can take advantage of the financial crisis in Europe.

In a 54-page report sent to hundreds of Goldman’s institutional clients dated Aug. 16, Alan Brazil—a Goldman strategist who sits on the firm’s trading desk—argued that as much as $1 trillion in capital may be needed to shore up European banks; that small businesses in the U.S., a past driver of job production, are still languishing; and that China’s growth may not be sustainable.